Economic Growth Sputters

August 19, 1986|United Press International

WASHINGTON -- The economy grew by a disappointing 0.6 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter of this year, the weakest quarterly gain since the 1982 recession, the Commerce Department said today.

The real gross national product expanded by $5.6 billion, to $3.661 trillion, in the April-June period, following a $33.6 billion -- or 3.8 percent -- gain in the first three months of the year, according to figures released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The numbers are expressed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in constant 1982 dollars.

The weak quarterly advance matched a 0.6 percent increase in the final quarter of 1982. The real GNP decreased by 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 1982, the tail end of the last business recession.

GNP must expand by 4.2 percent in the second half to meet a Reagan administration forecast of 3.2 percent GNP growth for the year.